The men’s hockey tournament is underway at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games, and hockey fans have their first look at Canada’s Men’s Olympic Team.
The 25 players were plucked from club teams across North America and Europe, including a trio of returnees, a past Olympic gold medallist and representation from seven provinces, from British Columbia to Prince Edward Island.
Here’s an inside look at the Team Canada roster:
4,354: NHL games played – captain Eric Staal owns almost a third of the total with his 1,293, followed by Daniel Winnik (798), Jason Demers (699) and David Desharnais (524). Seven players have yet to appear in an NHL game – Kent Johnson, Devon Levi, Jack McBain, Owen Power, Mat Robinson, Adam Tambellini and Matt Tomkins.
110: Professional teams, across 13 leagues in 12 countries, who have been part of the journeys of Team Canada; the list includes 27 of the 32 NHL teams (all except Chicago, Nashville, Ottawa, Vegas and Seattle), 37 in the American Hockey League and 14 in five countries (CHN, FIN, KAZ, LAT, RUS) in the Kontinental Hockey League.
29-9-7: Average age (in years, months and days) of Canada’s Men’s Olympic Team. This is the fourth-oldest Team Canada ever, after 2018 (31-0-5), the history-making 2002 team (30-6-3) and the 1998 team that was the first to include NHLers (29-10-2).
19: Age of Kent Johnson, Mason McTavish and Owen Power, who are the first teenagers to represent Canada at the Olympic Winter Games since Paul Kariya in 1994. McTavish, who just turned 19 on Jan. 30, is the youngest Olympian since Eric Lindros in 1992.
11: Players who competed for Canada at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge – Morgan Ellis (Atlantic, 2008-2009); Landon Ferraro (Pacific, 2008); Alex Grant (Atlantic, 2005-2006); Josh Ho-Sang (Ontario, 2013); Jack McBain (Canada Black, 2016); Mason McTavish (Canada White, 2019); Owen Power (Canada White, 2018); Eric Staal (Ontario, 2001); Ben Street (Pacific, 2004); Jordan Weal (Pacific, 2009); Tyler Wotherspoon (Pacific, 2009)
8: Players from the Kontinental Hockey League, most of any league (American Hockey League – 4; NCAA – 4; National League – 3; Deutsche Eishockey Liga – 3; Svenska Hockeyligan – 2; Ontario Hockey League – 1)
8: Players who competed for Canada at the Spengler Cup – Adam Cracknell (2018); Jason Demers (2012); David Desharnais (2019); Alex Grant (2019); Maxim Noreau (2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019); Adam Tambellini (2019); Matt Tomkins (2019); Daniel Winnik (2018, 2019)
8: Players from Ontario, most of any province (British Columbia – 5; Quebec – 5; Alberta – 4; Nova Scotia – 1; Prince Edward Island – 1)
7: Players who competed for Canada at the IIHF U18 World Championship – Landon Ferraro (2009); Alex Grant (2007); Jack McBain (2018); Mason McTavish (2021); Eric O’Dell (2008); Eric Staal (2002); Jordan Weal (2010)
5: Players who competed for Canada at the IIHF World Junior Championship –Tyler Wotherspoon finished fourth in 2013, Devon Levi earned Top Goaltender honours as he backstopped Canada to silver in 2021, and Kent Johnson, Mason McTavish and Owen Power were part of the most recent Canadian contingent at the cancelled 2022 World Juniors. Head coach Jeremy Colliton added gold (2005) and silver (2004) in his two appearances, while assistant Nolan Baumgartner won a pair of gold medals in 1995 and 1996, wearing the ‘C’ in his second year.
5: Players selected in the first round of the NHL Draft – Owen Power (1st – Buffalo), Mason McTavish (3rd – Anaheim) and Kent Johnson (5th – Columbus) went early in the 2021 draft, Eric Staal went No. 2 to Carolina in 2003 and Josh Ho-Sang was the 28th selection by the New York Islanders in 2014.
4: Players undrafted in the NHL Draft – David Desharnais, Maxim Noreau, Mat Robinson and Ben Street never heard their names called, but have combined to play 3,426 pro hockey games.
4: Players who competed for Canada in a summer under-18 tournament –Alex Grant (2006 U18 Junior World Cup); Jack McBain (2017 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup); Eric Staal (2001 Six Nations Cup); Jordan Weal (2009 Memorial of Ivan Hlinka)
3: Returnees from the 2018 Olympic Winter Games – Maxim Noreau, Eric O’Dell and Mat Robinson helped Canada win a bronze medal four years ago in PyeongChang.
3: Players who have competed for Canada at the IIHF World Championship – Jason Demers (2017); Owen Power (2021); Eric Staal (2007, 2008, 2013)
3: Players who lead or co-lead their team in scoring during the 2021-22 season – Corban Knight (Avangard Omsk, KHL); Jack McBain (Boston College, HE); Adam Tambellini (Rögle BK, SHL)
3: Players who competed at the World Junior A Challenge – Kent Johnson (Canada West, 2019); Devon Levi (Canada East, 2019); Jack McBain (Canada East, 2016-2017)
1: Olympic gold medallist – Eric Staal topped the podium with Canada at the 2010 Games in Vancouver, recording a goal and five assists in six games.
1: Player who has never played a game for Canada at any level – Mark Barberio is making his debut in the Maple Leaf in Beijing.
1: Player who competed at the Centennial Cup, Canada’s National Junior A Championship – Adam Tambellini reached the semifinals with Surrey Eagles at the 2013 tournament in Summerside, P.E.I.
1: Player who competed at the TELUS Cup, Canada’s National U18 Club Championship – Landon Ferraro helped the Vancouver NW Giants to a fourth-place finish at the 2007 tournament in Red Deer, Alta.
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